Chapter 35: Synchronized Reinforcement
"Surprisingly, it had little effect."
After an entire afternoon sitting on the pedestrian street, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes, faint disappointment evident on his face.
He had initially believed that practicing the Insightful Eye in such a noisy place would be somewhat beneficial, as it aligned well with how the art worked. He didn't expect the progress to be nearly the same as it was yesterday, however.
It seemed like he was overthinking it. Deep in thought, Chen Chu stood up and departed.
Having sat there for the entire afternoon, as he basked in the sun and practiced the Insightful Eye, he had been approached by some beautiful women who tried to strike up conversations with him.
However, Chen Chu had not only been in a state of cultivation, half of his consciousness had been immersed in the beast hunting and battling. He had no interest in engaging with any of them. Women were not as entertaining as hunting the various mutated fish that lurked in the depths of the river.
***
On the second day, Chen Chu didn't go back to that street, nor did he go to school.
Bathed in sunlight, he sat cross-legged on the wooden veranda in the backyard, earnestly cultivating the Dragon Elephant Art. Meanwhile, a portion of his mind was focused on the armored beast.
In water ten meters deep, the armored beast had just hunted a common mutated fish measuring over three meters long, and was now voraciously feasting. After several days of rampage, the armored beast had become the overlord of several kilometers of watery territory. Any mutated fish it targeted stood no chance of escape. Simultaneously feasting and drinking heavily, its physique grew increasingly massive.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Chen Chu halted his cultivation and opened his eyes. Just now, he felt a faint warmth emerging within his body. This sensation was quite similar to what he had experienced during the evolutions of his avatar. Could it be...
With a thought, Chen Chu summoned the attribute page.
Upon inspection, he discovered that over the past two days, all four major attributes had quietly increased by 2 points. Among them, the Strength attribute had reached an impressive 63.
"My attributes are gradually increasing." Chen Chu was somewhat surprised, and then made an incredible realization.
Synchronized reinforcement. As the armored beast grew, his main body was also being influenced, becoming stronger continuously.
The reason he hadn't noticed it before was that the previous six-horned salamander had been too weak. Its growth had had little impact on Chen Chu's cultivation of true martial arts. It wasn't until the second evolution, when the armored beast's size exceeded a certain limit, that it began to have an impact on Chen Chu, who already had a Physique of 60.
Contemplating this possibility, Chen Chu's breath quickened. If it were indeed as he suspected, then when the avatar grew to a thousand meters, even millions of meters in the future, the synchronized reinforcement to his main body would be truly terrifying.
A punch capable of shattering a planet!
Excited, Chen Chu murmured to himself, "It seems that I'll need to allocate more energy to cultivating the avatar in the future."
Compared to the slow progression of true martial arts, the growth rate of the armored beast was significantly exaggerated. It wasn't very noticeable at less than a meter, but it would become terrifying after a few more evolutions.
Especially when it would later venture into the deep sea and grow to hundreds or even thousands of meters...
On Monday, the day of the freshmen ranked competition, the school was bustling with activity. Nearly two thousand freshmen rushed towards the sports center of the cultivation area.
It was a stadium specially constructed for events, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people. The four large screens hanging from the ceiling of the stadium were broadcasting news about the school. The surrounding stands were filled with freshmen who had yet to establish their foundations.
On the field below, equivalent to the size of four soccer fields, fifty platforms were set up, each measuring six meters in length and width. These platforms were arranged in four rows, numbered from one to fifty. Due to the uneven distribution, the first two platforms, numbered one and two, were more prominent.
At the south entrance of the sports center, freshmen carrying weapons were lining up in rows at the ten self-registration machines. Every person's face was filled with excitement, enthusiasm, nervousness, and tension.
At the top of the spectator stands, several upperclassmen who were not wearing school uniforms stood with their arms crossed. One of them showed disinterest and commented, "Chen Hong, why did you call us here?"
Leaning on the railing, the young man with long hair grinned and said, "What else? We're here to watch the competition together."
Someone scoffed, "It’s a bunch of novices who just got into the First Heavenly Realm. What's there to see in this kind of competition?"
"Zhang Yao is right," another person chimed in. "These people haven't even gotten close to true power yet. This is going to be like watching children play. I don't understand why the school bothered with this competition."
A senior student, expressing envy, remarked, "Yeah, I heard that if you rank in the top fifty, you get an additional 5 contribution points every month. If we were participating, it would be as easy as picking them up for free."
Second-year students only earned 10 contribution points per month during the school term. If they wanted more, they had to complete tasks that rewarded points.
But for these freshmen, as long as they made it into the top fifty, then alongside the monthly supply they already had, they would receive almost as much as what the second-year students got.
Leaning on the railing, the young man shook his head. "Don't underestimate this batch of freshmen. It's only been a month since school started, and someone has already broken through to the Second Heavenly Realm."
"Do you mean that student named An Fuqing? She broke through to the Second Realm in just half a month. Her talent is no less than that freak Ji Changkong."
The young man with long hair smiled wryly. "It's not just her. There are several formidable individuals among this batch of freshmen. One of them’s achieved perfect compatibility with their martial art."
"What? Perfect compatibility!"
"How is that possible!?"
This news surprised the senior students greatly.
The young man with long hair shrugged. "Don't look at me. I just heard it from Old Qin, so it should be accurate. That freshman hasn't broken through to the Second Heavenly Realm yet, but he possesses innate divine power. Coupled with cultivating the high-level Bull Demon's Mountain-Shaking True Art, his strength is extremely formidable."
"What a freak..." One of the senior students swallowed hard.
Having innate divine power and perfect compatibility with the inherent strength-enhancing nature of an advanced martial art would enable one to reach a truly terrifying level.
"It seems this batch of freshmen really aren’t to be underestimated." The other senior students became serious.
Chen Chu, carrying a long saber on his back, quickly completed his registration.
"Ah Chu, over here!"
As Chen Chu squeezed out of the crowd, Xia Youhui waved and called out to him. Around him were other students from Class Three, subtly forming two factions. The first, led by the class monitor Lin Xue, had Xia Youhui, Lu Haitao, and Li Wenwen. On the other side was a small group led by Yi Rui, surrounded by several other students who hadn't joined Lin Xue’s club.
Watching Chen Chu approach, Xia Youhui grinned and said, "Ah Chu, if you're unlucky enough to encounter me later, I won't go easy on you this time."
As he spoke, he patted the large shield strapped to his back, taller than a person with a thickness of ten centimeters. It was covered in spikes, and it was unmistakably his weapon. Even though the alloy’s weight was considerably lighter than regular steel, such a thick and heavy shield would still exceed a hundred kilograms in weight, making it a truly heavy weapon.
Chen Chu smiled faintly. "If you encounter me, just go all out. This time, my main goal is to participate and get some practical combat experience. Winning or losing doesn't matter."
Lin Xue nodded at his words. "Exactly, this is just a regular competition. Everyone's strength is average, and the main focus is on mutual learning. There's no need to put too much emphasis on winning or losing."
"The class monitor is right." Chen Chu nodded modestly.
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